Vacuum cleaner



45 scale;

-Petented Feb. 16, 1937 `PATENT oFFicE 2,070,986 VACUUM CLEANER, Benjamin S. Foss, Brookline, Massi., assignor to B. F. Sturtevant Company, Hyde Park,

a corporation of Massachusetts Mass.,

Application June 1s, 1934, serial No. 731,024 v 13 Claims.

The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners. e

. Vacuum cleaners as'now manufactured for domestic use are of two general types, a traveling cleaner supported partly or entirely on wheels and caused to travel back and forth over the carpets, rugs, etc., to be cleaned, and a hand s cleaner of relatively` small size held in the hand of the operator for cleaning upholstery, draperies and the like. I A,

While the suction developedV by many of the cleaners of the hand type is adequate for cleaning' rugs and carpets, the use of such a cleaner directly upon oorcoverings is too difficult and 'tiresome for the operator, necessarily involving a bending or stooping over or a kneeling upon the floor. It is the object of the present invention to provide means for converting at will a hand cleaner into a traveling cleaner for use 2g in cleaning rugs in the same manner and with the same ease and facility as with the larger and more cumbersome types designed exclusively for such work. Thus advantage maybe taken of low first cost, light weight, and ease of manipulation of the hand cleaner, and both types of cleaner made available with only a single cleaning unit.l ,Y With this object in view, the present invenv"tion comprises briefly a .carriage havingwheels and a guiding handle upon which a hand cleaner may be easily and quickly mounted for use as a traveling cleaner or from which it may be as easily removed to be used as a. hand cleaner.

The invention also comprises certain novel fea- 35 tures of construction, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a, carriage embodying the invention in what is 4o now considered the preferred form with a hand type vacuum cleaner mounted thereon; Fig. 2

is a sectional side elevation of thelower part e of the carriage with the cleaning unit removed; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same on 'a larger Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the handle; Fig. 5 is a section of the same on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is another section on 1ine 66of Fig. 4; Fig. '7 is a detail vew of the strap hinge construction; and Fig.r8 is a detail sectional view 5.0' showing the method of retaining` the wheels on the axle. I

The hand vacuum cleaner-or cleaning unit shown in Fig. 1 may be of any usual type having a substantially cylindrical horizontal motor casing 8 and a fan casing I0. the inlet ofwhich comprises the cleaning nozzle I2, and to the outlet of which is-attached the rusual bag I8. The cleaner is provided with an electric cord I8, and the'small handle 28 suitable for'use in operating the device as a hand cleaner. A `switchA 2| is provided for controlling the operation of the motor.

According to the present invention, the cleanermay be mounted in awheeled carriage to permit its use in the same manner as the conventional `larger travelingcleaner. This carriage comprises a supporting plate 22, the major portion of whichis of generally cylindrical form to partially embrace the motor housing 8. The plate is provided with rubber buttons or spacers 24 to protect the cleaner and also to space it slightly .from the plate for purposes of ventilation.

The motor housing is secured to the plate by means of straps 26 and 28 hinged to the plate. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the strapy 26 is provided at *the end with ears 38 on which is pivoted a looped wire 32. Similarly pivoted to the strap 28 is a tongue 34 adapted to enter the loop and having a toggle cam 36 to engage the end of the loop and thereby to tighten the straps about the motor housing\.when the tongue 34 is moved to the' full-line position of Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 7, each hinge 38, by which the strap is connected to the plate 22, has the middle section 3S of less width than the strap and the end sec tions formed on the plate are provided with offsets 40, so that the straps cannot swing outwardly farther than indicated in the dot-anddash lines of Fig. 3.

The rear portion of the plate 22 departs from the cylindrical shape ofthe front portion and terminates in a curved portion 42 surrounding an axle 44 and freely movable thereon. The propelling and guiding handle 45 is formed of two strands of wire twisted together, the'strands being separated at the lower end of the handle to form a. yoke 46 having its 4ends 41 curled around the axle adjacent to the part 42 of the plate, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Above the yoke portion, the wres are welded and twisted, asindicated at 48 and 50, for 'purposes of rigidityv and strength. y

The entire handle may be made of a, single piece or loop of wire, but in order to permit dis- 50 assembly for shipping, the handle is preferably made in two sections, as shown in Fig. 4, the two wires forming the lower portion terminating in a ferrule 52 fixed thereon, see Figs. 4 and 6, and the ends of the single piece of twisted wire 84 56 which forms the upperportion 4oi? the handle being received in the ferrule. The lower ends of the wire 54 are welded at 55 and are tapped to receive a screw 56 passing through the ferrule. A two-part wooden grip 58 is riveted to the top of the handle and the upper end of the handle terminates in a loop lilly convenient for hanging the carriage on a hook. Immediately below the grip 58, a spring clip 62 is welded between the wires for the purpose of supporting the electric cord I8, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

A pair of wheels 64 are mounted on opposite ends of the axle 44, the wheels being spaced from the ends of the `handle by washers 66. The

wheels are retained on the axle by any suitable means, illustrated in Fig. 8 as snap rings 68 received in annular grooves of the axle 44.

It will be seen in Fig. 3 that the vrear portion of the plate 22 is ared outwardly at both sides to lie directly in front of the handle, as indicated at 10, serving as a stop whereby the handle has' provision for limited swinging movement with respect to the cleaner carriage, both upwardly and downwardly.- As shown in Fig. 2, the handle is permitted to move in a counter-clockwise direction until the yoke portions thereof engage with the upper surface of the ared portion 'lll of the plate whenv the handle will be slightly inclined forwardly. It is also permitted y to move in a clockwise directionvuntil the ends of the wire engage the under surfaces of the flared portions 10. This permits the free normal swinging movements of the handle in pushing and pulling the cleaner over the floor, at the same time providing for holding the handle upright and also for lift,- ing of the nozzle from the floor when the handle is lowered.

To mount the cleaner in the carriage, Vit is simplynecessary to place the cleaner nozzle and the wheels on a. iiat surface and then to clamp the cleaner in place on the plate 2 2 by means of the straps 26 and 28. When it is desired to use the cleaner as a hand cleaner, it is easily disconnected from the carriage.

The hand cleaner with the carriage of the present invention is particularly suitable for small homes and apartments in which the oor area is fairly small and storage space is at a premium. The invention is, however, frequently useful in large homes because, although the hand cleaner nozzle is somewhat smaller than that of the ordinary traveling cleaner, the labor and time in-` volved in cleaning a large surface may be no more,

than with a large cleaner, considering the saving of eort in moving the cleaner over the surface and in carrying it up and down stairs. Furthermore, the hand cleaner is always available for cleaning -upholstery and the like, a type of work for which the traveling cleaner is unsuitable.

j Thus a single cleaning unit serves for both a hand cleaner and a traveling cleaner and since the unit is complete as to nozzle, motor, dust .bag ,and electrical connections, the change from one type to the other may be accomplished with a minimum of time and effort.4 -Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A carriage for adapting a hand vacuum cleaner for :door work comprising a support for the cleaner, an axle carried by the support, wheels mounted on the axle, and a handle comprising lengths of wire having their ends partially looped al sund the axle, the handle having provision for swinging movement limited by engagementof theend faces of the wire with the support.

, axle, wheels carried 3. A carriage for a hand vacuum cleaner with a generally horizontal motor housing comprising a supporting plate engaging and conforming to the under side of the motor housing, means for securing the motor housing to the plate, an axle, the plate having a rear portion surrounding the by the axle, and a handle for operating the cleaner. 1

, 4. A carriage for a hand Vacuum cleaner with a generally horizontal motor housing comprising a supporting plate engaging and conforming to the under side of the motor housing, means for securing the motor housing to the plate, an axle, the rear portion of the plate flaring outwardly surrounding the axle and having its swinging movement limited by engagement with the flared portions of the plate.

5. A carriage for adapting a hand vacuum cleaner for oor work comprising a support for the cleaner, an axle carried by the support, wheels mounted on the axle, a handle comprising a wire yoke having ends partially looped around the axle and twisted wire sections', above the yoke, and a cord clip secured between the wires near the upper end.

6. A carriage for adapting a hand vacuum cleaner for floor work comprising a support for the` cleaner, an axle carried by the support, wheels mounted on-the axle, a, handle comprising a wire yoke having ends partially looped around the axle and twisted wire sections above the yoke, a hand grip attached to the upper end of the handle, and securing devices passing between the wires for securing the grip to the handle.

7. A carriage for a hand vacuum cleaner with a cylindrical housing comprising a supporting plate of cylindrical contour to receive the housing, a clamp consisting of a strap hinged to the plateA and arranged to embrace the housing, an axle, wheels mounted on the axle, and a handle pivoted to the carriage.

.8. A carriage for a hand vacuum cleaner with a cylindrical housing comprising a supporting plate of cylindrical contour to receive the housing, av clamp consisting o1' strap sections pivoted to opposite edges of the plate to embrace the housing, said sections and plate having cooperating stop devices to limit the outward swinging movement of said sections, the free ends of the sections having securing means for fastening said ends together, an axle, supporting wheels mounted thereon, and a handle for propelling the car' riage.

9. In a carriage for a hand vacuum cleaner, a two-part handle comprising a bottom section have and surrounding the axle, wheels on the axle, and a handle having partially looped end portions.'

l0 ing two adjacent wires, an upper section of two the other section adjacent the lower end vbeing 7 `of the vacuum cleaner to rest upon the iloor,

wheels mounted can the axle, and a handle on the carriage for moving the cleaner over the work.

11. A carriage for adapting a hand vacuum cleaner for floor work comprising a support for the cleaner, securing means for securing the cleaner to the support, an axle carried by the support at the rear portion thereof, the front portion being unsupported to permit the front end of the cleaner to rest upon the "floor, wheels mounted on the axle, a handle Vfor moving the cleaner` over the work, and means for mounting to the support.

12. A lcarriage for adapting` a hand vacuum cleaner for floor work comprising a support for the cleaner, securing means for securing-the support at the rear portion thereof,V the troni;l

portion being unsupported to permit the frontend of the vacuum cleaner to rest upon the door, wheels mounted on the axle, and a handle'having end portions surrounding the axle on opposite sides of the support. I*

13. A carriage for a hand vacuum cleaner with a generally horizontal motor housing comprising a supporting plate engaging and conforming to the under side of the-motor housing.' clamping means for securing the housing to' the plate' comprising a metallic strap having toggle-operated means for drawing together the ends thereofjnonhmetallic resilient abutments interposed. between the housing and its clamping and supporting vmeans to yield under the.compressive action of th'e ,strap to permit the toggle-operated 20 

